Two possesssions, two punts to open Super Bowl LVI.
After the Los Angeles Rams were forced to punt on the opening drive of the Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals took over possession and quickly Zac Taylor faced the first real fourth-down decision of the game. With the Bengals facing a 4th and 1 at midfield, Taylor kept his offense on the field.
Yet the pass fell incomplete, and the Rams offense returned to the field.
After a running play by Samaje Perine on the previous play, a 3rd and short, was stopped shy of the yard to gain, Taylor put the football in the hands of quarterback Joe Burrow. The quarterback targeted his favorite receiver, Ja’Marr Chase:
Rams get the 4TH DOWN STOP. #RamsHouse
📺: #SBLVI on NBC
📱: https://t.co/K02y40b5Nu pic.twitter.com/jPyUXn0hJX— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2022
In a sense, the design of the play worked against Cincinnati. Chase sits down on the stick/option route from the inside, while Tee Higgins runs an out route after crossing the formation in motion. As Burrow looks for Chase sitting down on the route, linebacker Ernest Jones starts breaking to the flat, to pick up Perine who is releasing to the outside on a swing route. That puts Jones in the throwing lane, and he is able to tip the football to force the incompletion.
Analytically, this was the correct decision for the Bengals, as supported by the “Fourth Down Bot” created by Ben Baldwin of The Athletic:
—> LA (0) @ CIN (0) <—
CIN has 4th & 1 at the LAR 49Recommendation (MEDIUM): 👉 Go for it (+2.4 WP)
Actual play: 👉 (Shotgun) J.Burrow pass incomplete short right to https://t.co/c87Ar0zg5S (E.Jones). pic.twitter.com/aJq9AH7UQy— 4th down decision bot (@ben_bot_baldwin) February 13, 2022
However, a bit of bad luck thanks to the play design, and a heads-up play by Jones, spoiled the effort.
